Orkperium
The Ork Klan known as the "Orkperium" was first encountered in its current state at the height of the Great Crusade in late m30. The klan is believed to be an offshoot of the Blood Axe klan, the first klan to have contact with the Imperium. Culture The Orkperium, or as they refer to themselves, the "Mpeeryum", has a unique culture that revolves around a belief that the aesthetic qualities and beliefs of the Imperium of Man bestow some sort of power. This manifests as a soft mimicry of imperial organization and culture that permeates throughout the klan. This causes the klan to be almost universally reviled and distrusted by other Orks. Even the Blood Axes, their assumed progenitors, regard the Orkperium as bizarre, un-orky, embarrassing and fanatical cultists. The Orks of the Orkperium wear salvaged pieces of imperial power armor--not just into battle, but scouts have observed that the Orks wear the armor during their daily lives. The Orks take extreme pride in their stolen or copied imperial armor and regalia. The Orks do, frequently, paint and repaint over their armor, virtually always painting a reproduction of a Adeptus Astartes chapter. It is not fully known why an Ork will choose to wear the colors of a certain chapter, but it appears the Orks have some understanding of the history of each chapter, and may select the one that they believe to be the strongest or represent them best. It is not clear how they have come into possession of this knowledge. It's clear that not all of it comes from direct contact, as they have knowledge of battles and events they were not present for. The Orks frequently fight and debate amongst themselves as to which "Chapta" is the best. Despite this behavior, Orkperium warbands do not separate themselves into "Chaptas" and instead fight as an amalgamated horde, similar to other Ork klans. They seem to believe that they are members of the Imperium, and as such are generally non aggressive and even initially friendly and amicable with imperial representatives. However, they make no attempt to hide the fact that they are Orks. Individual members of the klan appear to be, on average, more intelligent and well spoken than Orks of other tribes. Rather than mindless bloodshed for its own sake, the Orks have shown a capacity for selflessness and a desire to advance a "higher purpose". Relationship to the Imperium The Orks, generally, believe themselves to be part and parcel with, or at least allied to, the Imperium of Man. This means that imperial vessels in void space can safely pass near, or even through, entire fleets of Orkperium without a Kroozer doing as much as correcting course. One Ordo Xenos Inquisitor once spent an entire week in orbit above Menos II without hostility. Such action, however, is not without risk. The Orks are dogmatic, short tempered, and quick to suspect human subversives of "'eresy", at which point the ire of every Ork in the vicinity will be drawn. Certain imperial vessels, including those of the Adeptus Astartes Black Templars, Imperial Fists, Marines Malevolent, Flesh Tearers, and Mantis Warriors, seem to automatically draw the klans aggression. Ordo Xenos Deathwatch cruisers appear to be their favorite void targets. While amicable to the presence of the Imperium, the klan seems equally intolerant to the presence of any void spawn or chaos incursion. The Orks hunt down chaos with a zeal that would make even the most spiteful Sororitas smile. Relationship to other Xenos The Orkperium Klan, like most Orks, has an extremely adversarial relationship with other Xenos races. The forces of the klan have been seen engaged in regular combat with several tendrils of hive fleet Dagon. The Orks have also been recorded deliberately seeking out and attacking Necron tomb worlds, often with full invasion forces. There have also been known engagements with Eldar Craftworlds Lugganoth, Alaitoc,and Biel-Tan, and several engagements with Dark Eldar and Corsair pirate fleets. The engagements with the pirate fleets have generally been limited to void combat. The Orks have knowledge of the Tau and rather strong personal opinions on them (they believe them to be cowardly weaklings), but no recorded encounters between the two species have been logged. Da Boss Emprah The "higher purpose" the Orks desire to advance seems to be directly tied to the whims of their leader, a Warchief referred to by the Orks as "Da Boss Emprah". This Ork is huge, and clad in a large suit of golden armor cobbled together from various sources. This Ork should be considered extremely dangerous, even by warboss standards. The Orks psychic gestalt field imbues "Da Emprah" with the belief of his klan, giving him such abilities as: # The ability to survive void exposure unharmed. # Physics-defying athletic ability and strength. # The ability to survive grievous wounds and heal quickly. # Competency at hand to hand combat. The Orks of the Orkperium worship the "Emprah", and can be severely agitated in his presence. They insist that other Orks ought to follow them, and their usual initial trust of actual imperial units becomes strained if the imperials do not regard the warboss as the true emperor. Throught the history of the klan, there have been several recorded "Emprah's", although the Orks do not acknowledge this. The Emprah has a personal, elite guard of Mega-Armored Nobs called the "Kustodees". Religious Practices The klan's religious beliefs center around "Da Boss Emprah" and the worship thereof. In Orkperial theology, "Da Boss Emprah" is regarded as not merely a prophet of, but a direct conduit of the will of Gork and/or Mork (depending on who and when you ask). Unlike other Ork tribes, the Orkperium rarely sees sectarian conflict between the followers of Gork and the followers of Mork--as all follow "Da Boss Emprah". Their actual religious praxis revolves around revering symbols (most notably the scribbled aquilla signs the Orks plaster on their armor and vehicles) and chanting prayers to "Da Boss". Several sites have been excavated by Imperial Xenoarchaeologists that are believed to be temples to "Da Boss Emprah". The Primorks The klan has a number of sub-bosses that refer to themselves as "Primorks". They appear to take names and aesthetic traits similar to the actual Astartes Primarchs of the Great Crusade. Among them are Growlamin, Sun Gweenus, Korracks, Sneaky the Snake, Jagged Eye, Ahrn Orkus, Lyin' El, Orus, and Ukllen the Black. Each of these Primorks command large groups of boyz and are subservient to the Emprah. Like the Emprah, there have been multiple recorded iterations of each "Primork", none of whom are recognized by the klan. When a primork falls in battle, his second in command will typically don his armor and continue with the battle as though he was always that particular primork. Often times, large invasion forces will involve two or more of the primorks converging into one system. This was seen in early M42 during the Blight of Ultramar campaign, when the forces of Primork Growlamin and Primork Ahrn Orkus were involved in conflicts within the Ultramar region against a Tyranid incursion. Primork Growlamin Taking after and styling himself as the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, Growlamin heads one of the largest fleets in the Orkperium. Observers regard him as among the more dangerous and competent of the primorks--not only in single combat, but tactically as well. Growlamin will often command his forces to conduct distraction tactics, pincer maneuvers, and set up flanking opportunities with extreme ease and discipline. In approximately 112.M42, during the close of the Blight of Ultramar campaign, Primork Growlamin himself became aware of the reborn Primarch Guilliman for the first time. Declaring Guilliman a "traita'" and "'eretical imposta", he launched his fleet into the single most aggressive action the Orkperium has ever made against forces loyal to the Imperium. Primork Ahrn Orkus Close associate and confidant of Primork Growlamin, Primork Ahrn Orkus is the most adept Mekboy in the Orkperium. Styling himself after the holopic depictions of late Iron Hands Primarch Ferrus Mannus, Orkus is known for his extensive collection of heavy weapons platforms--specifically and most notably, mecha. Orkus oversees the construction and deployment of the Killa Kans, Deff Dreds, Gorkanauts, Morkanauts, Stompas and Gargants operated by the Orkperium. Surrounded by Cybork Nobs and a veritable army of Mekboyz, the firepower he can bring to bear belies the relatively small size of his fleet. Orkus is unusual among the primorks in that he often will send weapons under his control to his "bruvvas" when requested, and as such functions as the de facto armory supervisor of the Orkperium. Primork Jagged Eye Proof positive that not even the strange religious beliefs of the Orkperium are immune to the influence of the Kult of Speed, Primork Jagged Eye takes after White Scars Primarch Jaghatai Khan. Jagged Eye is known for one thing across the Orkperium: speed. Whether it's leading his screaming horde of biker boyz on hit-and-run attacks or battering enemy positions with flanking warbuggies and halftrakks, you can guarantee it will not be done slowly. Jagged Eye has recently been seen in the Vigilus system, which has been under siege by a larger Ork invasion. Rather than participate directly alongside the other Orks (he is, in fact, explicitly not welcomed by them) Jagged Eye has taken it upon himself to root out elements of Vigilus' increasingly prominent Genestealer Cult. History It's not clear when the klan split off from the Blood Axes, but archaeological evidence suggests that the klan has been repurposing Astartes armor since the early Great Crusade. The Orks are known to be in possession of pieces of every single type of power armor used by the imperium since M30, including Mk1 and Custodian Armor. During the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, the Orkperium was infamous for salvaging battlefields in the immediate aftermath of conflict and taking imperial tech that had yet to be recovered by servitors. This was tolerated by the Imperium during the heresy, but led to many skirmishes with the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Adeptus Mechanicus, as a result of the klan's unique cultural practices, have been involved in more violent conflicts with the Orkperium than even the Ordo Xenos. The klan has participated in several WAAAGH!s. The Orkperium has been involved in the WAAAGH!s of the Beast, Garaghak, and Ghazghkull, including the Second and Third Wars of Armageddon. During the War of the Beast, the Orkperium was heavily involved in garrisoning conquered Imperial worlds. Years later, the Orkperium's mythos reflects heavily on the War of the Beast, and attributes many of the Beast's deeds to the "Emprah"--implying they believe the two to be the same being. In M42, the Orkperium became gradually less and less friendly with Imperial forces. Particularly, Orkperium forces led by Primork Growlamin would engage in direct hostilities with any Imperial forces believed to be undertaking action in support of Roboute Guilliman's Indominus Crusade. Growlamin's personal dislike for Guilliman has made the Orkperium a constant thorn in the side of Imperial forces, and the hostilities have continued even as the Indominus Crusade has ended. Menos II/Olyterruh The klans primary base of operations is the Ork World designated in Imperial records as "Menos II". The Orks refer to the planet as "Olyterruh". The surface of Menos II is covered by sprawling Ork settlements, including several that are clearly modeled after hive cities. One "hive" is obviously larger and covers a larger surface area than the others. This is likely the "Emprah's" palace. Menos II may be the most densely populated Ork World on record. The Orks are known to have several other settlements spread throughout Segmentum Obscurus, but none come close to Menos II in size. Military The military forces of the klan are extremely vast. As vast as any other Ork klan. They seem to have a particular affinity towards the use of jump packs and heavy armor. Some of the Orks have been seen using captured imperial vehicles with very little obvious modification, meaning that the klan Mekboys have knowledge on how to repair imperial vehicles and on their operation. Despite their strange cultural practices, their actual combat doctrine differs very little from average Orks, although they're known to regularly conduct military drills and have attached actual ranks to their chain of command: * Primork - a Warboss. * Kap'n, Lootenit, Kommanda - Nobs of various sizes. * Sergeant - a Boss Nob in command of a large group of boyz. * Bruvva - a Boy. * Guardsman - Gretchin The klan tends to prefer looted imperial ships for void craft. Many of them are clearly broken off of space hulks and then modified. Da Emprah's Will The klan's flagship is a massive golden ship, clearly imperial in original design, although it's not immediately clear what the original pattern was. The Orks have sprawled across its hull in bright red letters "Da Emprah's Will". It is believed that the ship is a fairly recent acquisition to the fleet. It is evident that many of the ships weapon systems are non-functional. The Auspex array is so poorly calibrated that the ship can be easily boarded without raising an alarm if approached from the ship's aft port side. To compensate, the ship is rarely seen without at least five smaller "minder" vessels that supplement its deficiencies. The interior of the ship is extremely vast, and as such huge portions of the ship are barely touched by any Orkish modifications. Notably many of the corridors have giant fiberwire cords snaking through, connecting to various subsystems that appear to reroute to the ship's command center, which is apparently located in a large central atrium that was once likely used as a chapel hall or parade deck. The original bridge of the ship appears to be completely unused. The lower decks of the ship have been forcibly sealed off by the Ork crew. They are populated by a (relatively) small population of Tyranids, which took residence in the space hulk the ship was apparently cut from. The Orks generally like having the Tyranids onboard, as they can venture into the decks below and have a good fight whenever they'd like. Category:Orks